THE GOSPEL AND LACE MAKING.
By Mrs. George S. Hays
BY MRS. GEORGE S. HAYS.
[Missionary of the Presbyterian Board.] "DOESN'T your mother-in-law abuse you?"
"She is not living," I replied.
"Doesn't your husband smoke opium?"
"No."
"And doesn't he get drunk?"
"No."
"And doesn't he beat you?"
"No," said I gently—for I saw what was in the poor Chinese woman's heart—"no, he never struck me a blow in his life." Mrs. Chang looked from me to my Bible woman, as if she could not believe she had heard aright, then turned to me again and said bitterly: "You have been talking to me about heaven and hell in the world to come. Your life now compared with mine is as heaven and hell." "You have enough to eat and to wear?" asked a woman at another time. "Yes," I answered, feeling rather ashamed of it. "And I'll venture to say your children have warm flannels in winter?" she continued. "Yes, they are comfortably clothed," said I. "Ah, she has a stove that keeps the whole room warm," broke in a woman who had probably been in a foreign house; "she has a happy life." The crowd of poorly dressed women looked at me enviously. "All you say is perfectly true," commented an old man, as he listened to me as I talked to his wife. "I believe your doctrine. I believed it years ago, when I first heard your father preach." "Then why don't you live the gospel?" I gravely inquired. "We are too poor," he answered. "We have no time to keep the Sabbath." "I work from morning until night to get enough to keep me from starving," said a woman on another occasion. "I have no heart left to think about the world to come." Remarks like these, with constant applications for work which I could not give, and the continual sight of grinding poverty which I could not relieve, naturally led me to think very seriously whether I could help these women in their material as well as spiritual life. My object was to introduce an industry easily learned, and of such a nature that women could work at it in their own homes, and of reliable market value, and thus provide a modest competence to any woman striving to lead an independent Christian life, giving her a chance to keep the Sabbath, and time to learn the truth herself and to teach it to her children and neighbors. Such seekers after work cannot justly be called "rice Christians," for they will only be paid for hard work, well done, and will be required to buy for themselves the instruments used in their work. There will be no undue pressure brought to bear upon them, for, though the gospel will be taught them, the free acceptance or refusal will be left to each individual heart. From an English lady living in Chefoo I learned last summer to make real torchon lace and insertion. Silk lace is made, as silk thread of any color can be bought from the Chinese much more easily and cheaply than linen thread can be imported from a foreign country. In the early spring two women from the country came to me for two weeks' lessons. One is the daughter-in-law of an old teacher my husband received into the church about four years ago. Mr. Wang was very anxious that this daughter-in-law should come, as she and her husband (Mr. Wang's eldest son) were at first bitterly opposed to Christianity, and had been a great deal of trouble to him since he became a Christian. "My youngest daughter-in-law believes the gospel," he said; "but this one does not. If she comes to you, and is under your teaching for a couple of weeks, I hope it will make a great change in her." I promised to do what I could, and, contrary to my expectations, she proved to be willing and even anxious to learn the truth, and developed wonderfully during her short stay. It was interesting to watch her progress. At first she could only pray for herself, using the few sentences I had taught her when I visited her home the year before. Then she began to pray for the baby son she had left behind her, "that he might not cry for his mamma." Before she left she had extended her prayers to the whole world, and was asking for blessings upon the heathen. While here she learned two patterns of lace, one for herself and one for teaching her sister-in-law at home, and went away as happy and grateful a woman as I have ever seen. "My neighbors laughed at me and said I had gone clear crazy to come to you; but when they see my lace they will change their tune," she said triumphantly, as she packed up her lace cushions. Not long ago her husband brought me several yards of lace which she had made, and I asked him if his wife keeps the Sabbath. "Yes, she does," he assured me. "And does she preach the gospel to the women who come to see her make lace?" I inquired. "Yes," he answered, smiling. "To the women who are willing to hear, she preaches, and to the women who are not willing to hear, she also preaches." The other woman who came to me is the daughter of a man who became a Christian about two years ago. This man for many years was very widely known as a successful fortune teller, and both respected and feared as a powerful adviser in lawsuits. His change of life and testimony in favor of Christianity has very great weight. He is a fearless expounder of the truth; his manner of explaining the gospel is very attractive to the Chinese. The daughter of such a father was well taught; she could read the Bible fluently and could repeat many portions of it. There could have been no better proof of Mr. Kao's sincerity and consistent Christian life in his own home than this daughter's knowledge of the gospel. She also learned two patterns of lace, and took them home with her. Her mother used to be very much opposed to Christianity, and last week I asked Mr. Kao about her. He said she had thrown away all doubts about the gospel a long time ago, but she was getting old and could not read. "That does not matter," I said, "if she really believes. She can learn a great deal of the truth from your daughters and from you, even though she may never learn the characters." "Oh, yes," he answered, "her daughter teaches her a great deal! That is all they have to talk about, you know. While they are sitting quietly making lace, they talk together about Jesus."—N. Y. Independent.